Croatia Economy - 2004

Economy - overview:
Before the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the Republic of Croatia, after Slovenia, was the most prosperous and industrialized area, with a per capita output perhaps one-third above the Yugoslav average. The economy emerged from its mild recession in 2000 with tourism the main factor, but massive structural unemployment remains a key negative element. The government's failure to press the economic reforms needed to spur growth is largely the result of coalition politics and public resistance, particularly from the trade unions. Opponents fear reforms would cut jobs, wages, and social benefits. The government has a heavy back log of civil cases, many involving tenure land. The country is likely to experience only moderate growth without disciplined fiscal and structural reform.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $47.14 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
4.5% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $10,700 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 8.4%
industry: 29.8%
services: 61.8% (2002 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.7%
highest 10%: 23.3% (1998)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
29 (1998)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.5% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
1.79 million (2003)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 13.2%, industry 25.4%, services 46.4% (2002)

Unemployment rate:
18.9% (2003)

Budget:
revenues: $8.6 billion
expenditures: $9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)

Industries:
chemicals and plastics, machine tools, fabricated metal, electronics, pig iron and rolled steel products, aluminum, paper, wood products, construction materials, textiles, shipbuilding, petroleum and petroleum refining, food and beverages; tourism

Industrial production growth rate:
5.6% (2003 est.)

Electricity - production:
12.12 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 33.6%
hydro: 66%
other: 0.4% (2001)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption:
14.27 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
386 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
3.386 billion kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
29,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
89,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA

Oil - imports:
NA

Oil - proved reserves:
93.6 million bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - production:
1.76 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
2.84 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
1.08 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
34.36 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

Agriculture - products:
wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, barley, alfalfa, clover, olives, citrus, grapes, soybeans, potatoes; livestock, dairy products

Exports:
$6.355 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
transport equipment, textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs, fuels

Exports - partners:
Italy 22.4%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 14.4%, Germany 12.6%, Slovenia 8%, Austria 7.3% (2002)

Imports:
$12.86 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery, transport and electrical equipment, chemicals, fuels and lubricants, foodstuffs

Imports - partners:
Italy 16.8%, Germany 16.4%, Slovenia 7.8%, Russia 6.8%, Austria 6.7%, France 5.2% (2002)

Debt - external:
$19 billion (yearend 2003 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
ODA $66 million (2000)

Currency:
kuna (HRK)

Currency code:
HRK

Exchange rates:
kuna per US dollar - 6.7 (2003), 7.87 (2002), 8.34 (2001), 8.28 (2000), 7.11 (1999)